Harley Merlin 12 by Bella Forrest (story books to read TXT) 📗

they’re part of you. But you have a surefire way to control them with Medela.”

Screw you, gremlins! I am Gizmo, I have my red Ferrari, and I’ve just Rambo-ed your asses back into the shadows you crawled out of, you slimy creeps! No one’s feeding you after midnight anymore! I could’ve punched the air. I would have, if I wasn’t petrified of Huntress savaging off a hand thinking I’d gone into panicked, demon-seeing mode again.

“Thank you, Nash. I mean it… thank you,” I gushed. If ever there was a time for gushing, this was it.

“Don’t mention it. I can tell you’re a decent guy, Crowley.” Nash smirked. “I wouldn’t want you thinking all I do is sit on my ass and look out for myself.”

Ah, crap… He thought I was a good egg, while I was full-on lying about who I was and why I was here. Still, at least the gremlins weren’t having a dig and making me feel a million times worse with their endless chatter. Nothing but blissful silence filled this old gourd. Frankly, I wanted to bathe in that Medela stuff.

“Do you feel better?” Melody craned her head around my shoulder to look at me.

I chuckled. “A lot better, yeah, so it was probably good you stopped the bear hug when you did, or Luke’s face would definitely end up staying that way.”

“What?” Melody glanced up at Luke, who shifted uncomfortably. Her cheeks turned beet red. “I just didn’t want you hurting yourself.”

“I appreciate it,” I replied. “Though I’m not the biggest fan of physical contact. Well, unless it’s coming from Tobe.”

Melody’s embarrassment faded. “I totally understand why you all love his hugs now. He’s so… fluffy!”

“Yeah, well, don’t turn him into one of your jackets.” It felt good to joke.

“I wouldn’t!” she protested.

“Don’t, you’ll make her self-conscious,” Luke chided, apparently recovered from his green-eyed monster attack.

I raised my hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I’ve just been swarmed by dark mind stuff. I need to make sure my humor synapses are still firing on all cylinders.”

“Doesn’t look like they took any damage,” Nash said, ruffling Huntress’s fur.

“If he had any in the first place,” Luke added wryly.

The door burst inward.

“Looks like you’re having a lovely get-together. What a shame I missed the invite.”

Davin stood in the doorway, smug as ever. Before anyone could move, he launched a small cloth pouch at Huntress. It struck her face and exploded into a blinding, acrid swell of thick green smoke that threatened to choke us all.

Thirty-Three

Finch

For the love of Kevin Bacon! Davin had followed us here, likely using a tracing spell like Melody had. Either that, or he’d been keeping tabs on me somehow. He’d shown up one too many times for it to be coincidence. Every time he popped up, the element of shock ebbed. In fact, I would have been surprised if he hadn’t shown up.

Choking on the bitter smoke, I released Air from my palms, sweeping the dense green fog away as fast as possible. Huntress wheezed and spluttered, her limbs stiff and her body shaking.

“Davin?” Nash stepped forward, his gaze flitting between that stuck-up dingleberry and his suffering Familiar. Recognition washed across the Sanguine’s face. Cold, bitter recognition.

“Long time, no see.” Davin chuckled, launching a blast of Telekinesis that sent us all flying backward.

My hands twisted wildly, conjuring four pockets of Air in rapid succession. The first caught Melody before she careened into a table full of knives, the second missed Luke completely, and the third buffered the collision between Nash, Huntress, and the wall. I missed my own and slammed into the kitchen counter, which brought pots and pans crashing down onto my head.

I jumped up, ignoring my dizziness. Nash joined me in the center of the cabin, where I cast him a side-eye. “You two know each other?”

Nash attacked with a volley of fireballs, which Davin ducked effortlessly. “You remember those hunters I told you about?”

I added a lasso of Telekinesis to the fight, grasping Davin around the ankles and yanking him to the floor. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, you’re looking at the worst of them.” Nash sidestepped a tendril of Telekinesis as Davin hauled his ass back up, snatching a clutch of knives from the nearest workbench. He hurled them full speed at Davin’s head. The British donkey managed to duck two while Telekinesis whipped the last two away, letting them thunk harmlessly into the wall.

Luke launched himself in front of Melody. Using his Magneton abilities, he lifted the knives from the workbenches and the metal pots from the kitchen, heaving them all at Davin. Davin’s eyes widened; he sent up a wall of Telekinesis to protect himself from the onslaught. One knife slipped through, grazing Davin’s shoulder before disappearing into the snowy world beyond.

“There’s no need for battle, Nash.” Davin dusted off his fancy suit jacket, safe behind his protective shield. “I have a djinn ready and waiting to break that curse. Come willingly, and nobody suffers.”

“I’d rather eat squirrel guts!” Nash snarled, unleashing a powerful torrent of Fire. Huntress sprinted alongside the twisting flames, launching herself at Davin’s neck. Somehow, she sailed through the Telekinesis shield, her jaws snapping.

But Davin was ready for her. With a flick of his wrist, the husky arched backward through the air. She landed on all fours, skidding back like a ninja, her claws raking the floorboards.

“I’ve always been more of a cat person.” Davin smirked, raising his palms to strike.

Of course you have. No offense to cat lovers, but I’d never seen an evil person choose a dog over a cat. After all, the pet matched the owner, and cats could be egotistical little assholes.

Huntress stalked backward, planting herself in front of Melody. It gave Luke some backup, though he wasn’t doing too badly with his Magneton abilities. Another flurry of knives flew, keeping Davin on his toes as he tried to fling them away.

“Listen here, Calvert. I have no intention of leaving without you and your blood, so